Many bartenders include egg white when they mix a White Lady. The egg white doesn’t add flavor, though it does give the drink more volume and a fuller body. But it’s totally optional.

This recipe takes about 5 minutes to prepare, and serves 1.

Ingredients

1½ ounces dry gin

¾ ounce Cointreau

¾ ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 egg white (optional; see Notes)

garnish of lemon twist (optional)

Procedure

Place all ingredients (except garnish) in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice. Shake hard for 20 to 30 seconds until the shaker is nicely frosted.

Strain into a cocktail glass, preferably one that has been chilled. Garnish with a lemon twist, if desired, and serve.

Notes

This drink is most commonly served in a cocktail glass, but it also looks great in a champagne saucer (particularly when it includes egg white).

When mixing any drink that contains egg white, you might want to start by putting the egg white in the shaker by itself, without ice. Shaking sans ice helps develop frothiness. Shake the egg white for 30 seconds, then add ice and proceed with Step 1.

Eggs carry a slight (but real) risk of salmonella. So you may want to consider using pasteurized eggs. Although it’s unlikely that the eggs you buy will be infected, why take the risk?

You can also use dried egg white powder. Supermarkets usually stock this in the baking aisle. As long as you thoroughly dissolve the powder in warm water before using, it works well in cocktails.

BTW, when we mix this drink with egg white, we use only one white, whether we’re mixing one drink or two.

When a cocktail recipe specifies gin, it’s usually understood to mean dry gin. “London” dry gin is the most common style (it originally was distilled in London), but there are other styles of dry gin that are fairly similar (Plymouth gin, for example). Don’t stress about whether a particular gin is London dry. Just buy a decent dry gin with a name label.

The White Lady Cocktail goes by many different names. You may see it called the Delilah, the Chelsea Sidecar, the Kiernander, the Janikedvence, or Lillian Forever. Same drink, different aliases.

You may also find other drinks called the “White Lady” with ingredients and recipes that differ markedly from this one. But that’s typical for the world of cocktails, where confusion reigns.

The version of the White Lady that we feature here derives from a drink that most likely was created by Harry MacElhone, who earned his chops at the Plaza Hotel in New York, and later founded Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. MacElhone is credited with creating several other famous drinks, including the Sidecar, the Monkey Gland, the Bloody Mary, and the French 75.

Some cocktail historians say that MacElhone first mixed the White Lady in 1919, when he worked at Ciro’s Club in London. Originally, he used crème de menthe (which sounds awful in this drink). He later came to his senses, and replaced that with gin when he served it at Harry’s New York Bar. He also served a brandy version of the drink at one point.

Other cocktail aficionados insist that the White Lady was invented by Harry Craddock at The Savoy Hotel in London. Maybe. But most people today credit the drink to MacElhone.

Wherever and whenever it was created, it was a very popular drink between the world wars. It’s said to have been a favorite of comedians Laurel and Hardy.

Dorothy L. Sayers’s famous sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey drinks a White Lady in her mystery novel Have His Carcase.

In John le Carré's The Looking Glass War, spy Fred Leiser favors the White Lady as his tipple of choice.

Programming Note: Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, it’s time
to start our annual Summer Sippin’ and Snarfin’ Series. What’s that,
you ask? Well, during most of the year, we publish one cocktail recipe a
month (on the first Wednesday). But when summer rolls around, we tend
to up our drinks quotient – because we all get thirsty in warm weather,
right? So expect to see lots more cocktail recipes through Labor Day,
along with summer-appropriate food dishes. We may even post back-to-back
cocktails. Skoal.

OH, what a cute story! And a perfect drink to toast the newlyweds.We also had a small wedding...as in just us and our parents. I keep telling Trace that I want a wedding now, maybe on our 25th :) I have to wait 5 years :)

I was recently at a vodka tasting and most of the other attendees were bartenders. While some relied on the latest craze of adding everything but the kitchen sink to their latest and greatest, I loved that the brand stuck to what I know...3 or 4 great ingredients is all a good cocktail really needs. This is the perfect example and a must try for me!

Hi Viciki, I almost always use an actual egg white in a drink like this, but sometimes use powdered egg whites. Which of course you can use to make meringues. Not sure if they're the same thing as meringue powder though (doesn't meringue powder contain cornstarch and other ingredients, whereas powdered eggs whites are just that?). Anyway, egg whites work really well in some drinks -- they add really nice texture. Thanks for the comment.

This is definitely elegant and You don't need a wedding to attend to have one either ... there are none on the horizon for us this year. I love your marriage story, how cute as it is often the humble weddings that go on and on, unlike the big expensive, let's get a second mortgage to pay for it type that often doesn't last. Congratulations for all of those many years ago and we will have a ginny cointreau lemon White Lady cocktail as a dinner prelude on Saturday night. Many thanks John for the recipe and your story :D

Hi Liz, quick tip on making twists: cut the twist (it's easiest to do this with a channel knife). Wrap the twist tightly around a round spoon handle or chopstick. Hold each end of the twist, and push the ends towards the middle slightly (this helps set the curl). That's it. :-) Thanks for the comment.

When I first started reading this post all I could think of was Billy Idol, lol...Okay, so it's been a long day and I could probably indulge in this cocktail right about now:)

My day has been brightened by yours (and Mrs. K.R's) lovely wedding story, firemen and judge included, lol...As in this cocktail, less is more when it comes to weddings but unfortunately, it doesn't always go that way:)

Thanks for sharing this cocktail with us John. I'm looking forward to all of your Summer sips and sides:)

Hi John,Lovely White Lady Cocktail! I think I may like this one too..Have printed this one out...I love cool and refreshing drinks in the summer and I think the lemon must flavor it beautifully.I love lemon flavor and would love to try this one for sure. Such great info on the drink and as always love your drink recipes, so I will be looking forward to these posts all summer. You and Mrs.K Ruffs are so funny..love the banter back and forth. Have a wonderful rest of the week....Dottie :)

Hi John, I've never heard of The White Lady before, sounds like a lovely drink. Love, love your wedding story. My husband and I were married at the courthouse too, but do not have quite the story you do. Great post.

I use to be a gin & tonic person, but got bored with them after several years. Have never found another gin cocktail that really appealed to me, until now. I love Cointreau, so with gin and Cointreau this is obviously a drink for this white lady. :) Thanks for introducing me to this cocktail John!

Hi MJ, there are some boutique tonics out there that are really worth trying. Although I know what you mean -- it's kind of a one dimensional drink. This one is wonderful -- you'll like. Thanks for the comment.

Love your wedding story! Geek wedding or not, it is always nice to remember, eh? And this cocktail is one I know I will like because I have all the ingredients on hand. And as for Skoal...I have all these flavored aquavits in my freezer where they have now been for over 1 year. I can't drink them straight so I need ideas!

I love gin-based cocktails in the summer time. So refreshing and not cloying in the least. I wonder if this will supplant Champagne for weddings? That would be a fun take on the usual affair, wouldn't it? ;)